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Utilizing semantic intrusions to identify amyloid positivity in mild cognitive impairment
Loewenstein DA, Curiel RE, DeKosky S, Bauer RM, Rosselli M, Guinjoan SM, Adjouadi M, Peñate A et al.. Neurology, 2018-08-03
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Semantic intrusion (SI) errors may highlight specific breakdowns in memory associated with preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD); however, there have been no investigations to determine whether SI errors occur with greater frequency in persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) confirmed as amyloid positive (Amy+) vs those who have clinical symptoms of aMCI-AD with negative amyloid scans (suspected non-AD pathology [SNAP]) or persons who are diagnosed with other brain disorders affecting cognition. Methods Eighty-eight participants with aMCI underwent brain amyloid PET and MRI scans and were classified as early AD (Amy+), SNAP (Amy-), or other neurological/psychiatric diagnosis (Amy-). We focused on SI on the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) targeting proactive semantic interference (PSI; old semantic learning interferes with new semantic learning), failure to recover from PSI after an additional learning trial (frPSI), and retroactive semantic interference (new semantic learning interferes with memory for old semantic learning). Results SIs on measures of PSI and frPSI distinguished between Amy+ AD and SNAP and other non-AD cases. PSI and frPSI intrusions evidenced moderately high associations with reduced volumes in the entorhinal cortex, superior temporal regions, and supramarginal gyrus. No such associations were observed in cases with SNAP. Conclusions SIs on the LASSI-L related to PSI and frPSI uniquely differentiated Amy+ and Amy- participants with aMCI and likely reflect deficits with inhibition and source memory in preclinical AD not captured by traditional cognitive measures. This may represent a specific, noninvasive test successful at distinguishing cases with true AD from those with SNAP.
Key findings
- Objective Semantic intrusion (SI) errors may highlight specific breakdowns in memory associated with preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD); however, there have been no investigations to determine whether SI errors occur with greater frequency in persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) confirmed as amyloid positive (Amy+) vs those who have clinical symptoms of aMCI-AD with negative amyloid scans (suspected non-AD pathology [SNAP]) or persons who are diagnosed with other brain disorders affecting cognition.
- Results SIs on measures of PSI and frPSI distinguished between Amy+ AD and SNAP and other non-AD cases.
Why it matters
This study found that semantic intrusion errors on memory testing distinguished people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who were amyloid positive from those who were amyloid negative or had other brain disorders. It is a diagnostic study and does not report any treatment, cure, or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 77 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.7 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 23 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Ranjan Duara: h-index 99 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Florida: institution h-index 1,303 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30076274) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000006128
- PubMed: 30076274
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Loewenstein, D. A., Curiel, R. E., DeKosky, S., Bauer, R. M., Rosselli, M., Guinjoan, S. M., et al. (2018). Utilizing semantic intrusions to identify amyloid positivity in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006128
Vancouver
Loewenstein DA, Curiel RE, DeKosky S, Bauer RM, Rosselli M, Guinjoan SM, et al. Utilizing semantic intrusions to identify amyloid positivity in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. 2018. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000006128. PMID: 30076274.
BibTeX
@article{loewenstein2018-30076274,
author = {Loewenstein, D. A. and Curiel, R. E. and DeKosky, S. and Bauer, R. M. and Rosselli, M. and Guinjoan, S. M. and Adjouadi, M. and Peñate, A. and others},
title = {{Utilizing semantic intrusions to identify amyloid positivity in mild cognitive impairment}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000006128},
pmid = {30076274},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000006128}
}
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